A Report of Trócaire Kenya A Report of Trócaire Kenya Citizen participation in County Integrated Development Planning and budgeting processes in Kenya A case of five Counties A Report of Trócaire Kenya Acknowledgements This research project was commissioned by Trócaire Kenya, and our sincere gratitude goes to all those who contributed towards its success. Special thanks to the respondents from the project areas for their co-operation and input. The contribution by respondents from The County Government, The National Government, communities, civil society and all other stakeholders interviewed is highly appreciated. Recognition goes to the support received from the government of Ireland through Irish Aid for their continued contribution to Trócaire’s work and supporting this research. © Trócaire, Kenya, 2019 2 Table of Contents A Report of Trócaire Kenya 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 4 GLOSSARY 5 ABOUT TRÓCAIRE 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 10 BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION 13 INTEGRATED PLANNING & BUDGETING AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND PRACTICE 20 STUDY FINDINGS 37 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3 Glossary ADP Annual Development Plan AG Attorney General CBEF County Budget and Economic Forum CDB County Development Board CECM County Executive Committee Member CFSP County Fiscal Strategy Paper CGs County Governments CGA County Government Act CGA2012 County Government Act (2012) CIDP County Integrated Development Plan CIMES County Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation System CLIDP Community-Level Infrastructure Development Programme OCOB Office of Controller of Budget CoB Controller of Budget CoG Council of Governors CoK Constitution of Kenya CSO Civil Society Organization DoPPs Drivers of Public Participation FGD Focus Group Discussion FY Financial Year GDI Gender Development Index GDP Gross Domestic Product HE His Excellency HPI Human Poverty Index HRBA Human Rights Based Approach to Development IDP Integrated Development Planning KII Key Informant Interviews M&E Monitoring & Evaluation MCA Member of County Assembly MoDP Ministry of Devolution and Planning NCCPPA Nairobi City County Public Participation Act (2015) NCPPA Nakuru County Public Participation Act (2016) NG-CDF National Government Constituencies Development Fund NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OECD Organisation Economic Cooperation & Development PANEL Participation, Accountability, Non-Discrimination, Equality and Legality PFMA Public Finance Management Act (2012) PIC Project Implementation Committee PP Public Participation TCPPA Turkana County Public Participation Act (2014) UACA Urban Areas and Cities Act (2011) UNDP United Nations Development Programme WWII World War Two 4 A Report of Trócaire Kenya ABOUT TRóCAIRE One of the most powerful questions that have ever been asked is: Why are people poor and oppressed? Trócaire, an Irish development agency, works with numerous partners globally in response to this critical question. Trócaire was established in 1973 by the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, and its work is inspired by Catholic Social Teachings with an overarching commitment to social justice. Globally, the work of the organisation focuses on accountable governance and human rights, natural resource use and resource rights, women’s empowerment, and humanitarian preparedness and response. Trócaire works in over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, and has been in Kenya for 30 years, working with over 25 local partner organisations. Trócaire Kenya brings about change by enhancing the capacity of communities to protect and promote their own well-being and the needs of the most vulnerable in the face of a wide range of threats from inter-ethnic conflict to poor governance, gender based violence, violence against women and girls, political incitement and environmental shocks such as drought and flooding. We believe that the future well-being of Kenya and its citizens lies in the resilience of communities and their ability to understand, prevent and respond to violence and conflict, prepare for and respond to emergencies, recognise and elect effective leaders, manage and distribute common resources, support equitable access to services and to reflect on, and change practices that bring harm to its population. 5 A Report of Trócaire Kenya Executive Summary Integrated development planning has its roots in the centralised planning processes that began in the colonial era and became more institutionalised after independence through Kenya’s National development planning system. Following the adoption of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya and creation of a devolved system of government, integrated planning was decentralised. County governments are thus mandated to undertake elaborate and participatory planning processes resulting in County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs). To implement the CIDP, county governments are further required to develop Annual Development Plans (ADPs) which form the basis of budgeting for development projects. County governments have a constitutional obligation to facilitate public participation in all decision-making processes, including the development and adoption of CIDPs and ADPs. This study was therefore conducted to assess levels of public participation in the formulation and implementation of CIDPs and ADPs in five counties, namely Turkana, Tharaka Nithi, Kitui, Nakuru and Nairobi. The Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to development provided the analytical framework for this study. HRBA provides a normative framework for identifying rights and obligations of citizens and county officials respectively in upholding participation in the integrated planning processes. The study applied qualitative methods in obtaining and analysing data from ordinary citizens, county officials, civil society stakeholders and national government officials. A total of 425 respondents (comprising 340 FGD participants and 85 key informants) were interviewed during the study. Additional data was obtained from a literature review to complement and verify findings from the field. The first CIDPs were developed in 2013 with the second generation CIDPs developed in 2017. In 2017, Trócaire commissioned a study to analyse the legal framework of CIDPs 2013 and the budgetary process to establish opportunities for public participation available therein and the citizens’ perceptions on public participation in the five target counties. Also critical to the study was the extent to which county governments facilitated meaningful public participation in compliance with the law and best practice. Awareness of the challenges, opportunities and lessons learnt in the process was also significant to supporting improved public participation in the CIDPs 2017 and subsequent budgetary processes in the five target counties. 6 A Report of Trócaire Kenya A Report of Trócaire Kenya Some of the Key Findings are: • The Constitution has Provided Sufficient Anchorage for both Integrated Planning and Public Participation. Through Article 10, the constitution has sufficiently embraced HRBA. Courts have generated progressive jurisprudence clarifying what meaningful and adequate participation entails. • The County Government Act (CGA) is the principal legislation, elaborating constitutional principles on participation and integrated planning. To further decentralise planning to sub-county units, the Urban Areas and Cities Act (UACA) provides a framework for towns, municipalities and cities. However, the UACA has more explicit human rights language than CGA and therefore has better prospects of facilitating HRBA in participatory planning processes. • The Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) outlines the budget making process and details institutional responsibilities. It creates opportunities for public participation processes such as County Budget and Economic Forums (CBEF). However, the law does not clearly provide a link between the ADP and CIDP. • Enactment of Public Participation Laws: among the five target counties, Nakuru, Nairobi and Turkana have enacted county public participation laws in line with the CGA requirements. These laws embrace HBRA principles and elaborate the obligations of counties in facilitating public participation in their governance and development mandates. However, they vary greatly in their elaboration of institutional responsibilities. • Awareness of Existence of CIDPs: awareness is generally low among FGD participants, with Nakuru County exhibiting the highest level of awareness (25%) and Tharaka Nithi the lowest (7.5%). Few respondents had seen copies of the first generation CIDPs published by their respective counties with women faring worse than men in awareness levels. However, residents of Nakuru, Turkana and Kitui counties were better equipped since their CGs had made more efforts to produce and disseminate popular versions of the documents. • Participation in Formulation of CIDPs 2013: with evidently low levels of awareness of CIDPs it followed that there were equally low levels of participation in the process across the board. Counties needed to sensitise their citizens more on the CIDP process but their facilitation efforts were hampered by capacity constraints, a persistent culture of opacity and strict timelines in formulating CIDPs. • Participation in Implementation of CIDPs 2013: there was limited participation across the board. County authorities contributed to this problem by failing to provide project monitoring mechanisms and facilitate citizen consultations over CIDP reviews. Consequently, there were high incidences of non-completion